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Gestational Age?
Here is my dilemma:
I found out about 1 1/2 weeks ago that I'm going to be a dad......of twins. The mother of the babies just found out as well, even though she is around 5 months pregnant.
She was on the birth control shot and the Dr.'s told her that her period would be very sporadic and absent for up to a year so she wasn't alarmed about missing her menstruation cycle. She also didn't have any morning sickness to speak of. Another important point is, she doesn't drink or smoke (thank god).
She is 20 years old and we had a short relationship that ended on good terms. We are now in a pickle.
I'll give you the exact details about her Menstruation cycle and the date we were together and hopefully you can let me know if I have reason to be concerned about her honesty.
1.) We were together on 9/2/07 Sunday and she claims this is the first day of her LMP. I do know she was on her period that day, 100% positive, although I'm not sure if it was her first day.
2.) We had unprotected sex on 9/15/07 Saturday.... (Probably right smack dab in the middle of her ovulation cycle...so based on this I'm thinking they are mine). I did not ejaculate in her. If I did impregnate her on this night the gestational age of the baby would be about 23 weeks 4 days, 165 days from her LMP. Based on a 37 week pregnancy (common for twins) the due date would be around mid-May.
3.) She got an ultrasound on 2/13/08 and everything looked healthy and no problems to speak of.
Here, however, is my dilemma. The report and analysis of the ultrasound reports that the big twin baby's gestational age is estimated to be around 19 weeks 4 days...and the smaller twin almost 1 week behind that and the probable due date being early July. That puts them at almost a full cycle behind where they should be.
In the research I've conducted, I realize that the accuracy of ultrasounds in determining gestational age can be sketchy at best the longer the pregnancy but they are usually only + or - two weeks.....not four weeks as in my case.
I also realize that growth rates may be different for twin babies as compared to singletons, however, that usually isn't recognized until the third trimester and twins usually grow faster.
She swears that she wasn't with anyone else around this time. Should she be trusted and should I be concerned about the health of my babies or both. Oh.....I do plan on getting a paternity test to make sure.
Question #1- Is it possible for the ultrasound to underestimate my babies gestational age by 4 weeks?
Question #2- If they are my kids and are small for gestational age (maybe due to malnourishment) what can be done now to catch up....if anything.
Question #3- What other concerns should I have? I'm going into the Dr. with her on Wednesday.
Thank you so much for your time.
nemt4paul
I found out about 1 1/2 weeks ago that I'm going to be a dad......of twins. The mother of the babies just found out as well, even though she is around 5 months pregnant.
She was on the birth control shot and the Dr.'s told her that her period would be very sporadic and absent for up to a year so she wasn't alarmed about missing her menstruation cycle. She also didn't have any morning sickness to speak of. Another important point is, she doesn't drink or smoke (thank god).
She is 20 years old and we had a short relationship that ended on good terms. We are now in a pickle.
I'll give you the exact details about her Menstruation cycle and the date we were together and hopefully you can let me know if I have reason to be concerned about her honesty.
1.) We were together on 9/2/07 Sunday and she claims this is the first day of her LMP. I do know she was on her period that day, 100% positive, although I'm not sure if it was her first day.
2.) We had unprotected sex on 9/15/07 Saturday.... (Probably right smack dab in the middle of her ovulation cycle...so based on this I'm thinking they are mine). I did not ejaculate in her. If I did impregnate her on this night the gestational age of the baby would be about 23 weeks 4 days, 165 days from her LMP. Based on a 37 week pregnancy (common for twins) the due date would be around mid-May.
3.) She got an ultrasound on 2/13/08 and everything looked healthy and no problems to speak of.
Here, however, is my dilemma. The report and analysis of the ultrasound reports that the big twin baby's gestational age is estimated to be around 19 weeks 4 days...and the smaller twin almost 1 week behind that and the probable due date being early July. That puts them at almost a full cycle behind where they should be.
In the research I've conducted, I realize that the accuracy of ultrasounds in determining gestational age can be sketchy at best the longer the pregnancy but they are usually only + or - two weeks.....not four weeks as in my case.
I also realize that growth rates may be different for twin babies as compared to singletons, however, that usually isn't recognized until the third trimester and twins usually grow faster.
She swears that she wasn't with anyone else around this time. Should she be trusted and should I be concerned about the health of my babies or both. Oh.....I do plan on getting a paternity test to make sure.
Question #1- Is it possible for the ultrasound to underestimate my babies gestational age by 4 weeks?
Question #2- If they are my kids and are small for gestational age (maybe due to malnourishment) what can be done now to catch up....if anything.
Question #3- What other concerns should I have? I'm going into the Dr. with her on Wednesday.
Thank you so much for your time.
nemt4paul
Thanks for the info....I know what you are saying and thought this all through. What is REAL is the ultrasound and LMP are a month off....period....end of story. Now this is either due to the babies being in about the 1 percentile or they aren't my kids.
Based on a 40 week pregnancy and her LMP the due date would be June 8th.
Based on a 40 week pregnancy and her ultrasound gestational age the due date is around July 6th.
I was using mid-May...not as the due date, but the date they will probably be born if they are my kids. I understand the due date of a 40 week pregnancy will be early June. Most twin pregnancies don't make it past 38 weeks....from what I've read.
In the research I've conducted....twins’ progress at almost the same rate as singleton babies in the first two trimesters. It's the third trimester when the growth rates start to tail off and vary.
Thanks again so much for responding.
Based on a 40 week pregnancy and her LMP the due date would be June 8th.
Based on a 40 week pregnancy and her ultrasound gestational age the due date is around July 6th.
I was using mid-May...not as the due date, but the date they will probably be born if they are my kids. I understand the due date of a 40 week pregnancy will be early June. Most twin pregnancies don't make it past 38 weeks....from what I've read.
In the research I've conducted....twins’ progress at almost the same rate as singleton babies in the first two trimesters. It's the third trimester when the growth rates start to tail off and vary.
Thanks again so much for responding.
Okay, personally, July does seem a bit off..however, you were going by as you said "a normal 37 week pregnancy" there is no such thing... it may BE common for twins to be born around 37 weeks, but that would not be the actual due date, since a full term baby [or babies] would be born at 40 weeks. If they ARE born at 37 weeks, as you'd presume, that would only mean they were delivered 3 weeks early. So you're just taking off an extra three weeks that are throwing the numbers off more than they already are. So your estimations for Mid-May are off by some three weeks.
According to this right here, when you put in the date of her LMP, it says that she should be over 25 weeks, and due on June 8. [[http://www.whenmybaby.com/pregnancycalendar.php]]
The dates don't seem off to me, if she is in fact telling the truth, because I know that I conceived in early to mid September, and my baby's due date is on June 1st.
But if these babies are measuring at around 19, and 18 weeks.. that part does seem a little off... but babies tend to develop at different rates, especially twins.. And she could have ovulated a little later than normal, and the sperm that got her pregnant [assuming yours] could have lived inside her vagina/uterus for a few days, setting the dates off even a little more.
The U/S dates could be innacurate, twins tend to be much smaller than singletons, so just because they are measuring at 19, and 18 weeks.. does not mean that is how old they are, gestationally.. Although, if that were their actual gestational age, and not just a measurement from the U/S, then yes, that would put her at having conceived during her next cycle, not the one that she is stating. but it does mean that she is lying. things like these do happen. And as you already know, paternity test is the only way for a sure answer.
Good luck to you!
I hope I was atleast of some help.
According to this right here, when you put in the date of her LMP, it says that she should be over 25 weeks, and due on June 8. [[http://www.whenmybaby.com/pregnancycalendar.php]]
The dates don't seem off to me, if she is in fact telling the truth, because I know that I conceived in early to mid September, and my baby's due date is on June 1st.
But if these babies are measuring at around 19, and 18 weeks.. that part does seem a little off... but babies tend to develop at different rates, especially twins.. And she could have ovulated a little later than normal, and the sperm that got her pregnant [assuming yours] could have lived inside her vagina/uterus for a few days, setting the dates off even a little more.
The U/S dates could be innacurate, twins tend to be much smaller than singletons, so just because they are measuring at 19, and 18 weeks.. does not mean that is how old they are, gestationally.. Although, if that were their actual gestational age, and not just a measurement from the U/S, then yes, that would put her at having conceived during her next cycle, not the one that she is stating. but it does mean that she is lying. things like these do happen. And as you already know, paternity test is the only way for a sure answer.
Good luck to you!
I hope I was atleast of some help.
If you ask me, mom knows best. Your situation is difficult given that she didn't realize until 5 months but I would still go with what your girlfriend is saying, especially because your gut feeling is telling you the same thing. Good luck on your next visit. I think docs give way too much credit to technology and not enough to mothers intuition.
Well, we went in yesterday day and came out quite disappointed. The midwife was very short with me and didn't answer my questions sufficiently. I tried to ask her about the difference between the LMP and ultrasound and she just wouldn’t have it.
She kept saying they are going by the ultrasound because it’s more accurate than LMP. I wanted to scream and say “listen here….if 9/2 is the LMP there is no way these babies will get into June.” She just kept reiterating that the babies due date is set for the beginning of July.
She basically said we won't know if they are Small for Gestational Age until the next ultrasound.
I did talk to another midwife (very experienced) about our situation, however, and she said unequivocally that these babies were conceived on her next cycle. My girl friend, however, swears that her LMP was on 9-2-07.
The only problem with that is......I wasn't with her during her next cycle.
My gut and instinct are saying that these are my babies, but the ultrasound results aren't jiving when we were together.
I'm very confused. I hope to find out a lot more on March 13th......the next scheduled ultrasound.
On a positive note, the babies and the mother appear to be healthy. No problems to speak of.
Thanks
She kept saying they are going by the ultrasound because it’s more accurate than LMP. I wanted to scream and say “listen here….if 9/2 is the LMP there is no way these babies will get into June.” She just kept reiterating that the babies due date is set for the beginning of July.
She basically said we won't know if they are Small for Gestational Age until the next ultrasound.
I did talk to another midwife (very experienced) about our situation, however, and she said unequivocally that these babies were conceived on her next cycle. My girl friend, however, swears that her LMP was on 9-2-07.
The only problem with that is......I wasn't with her during her next cycle.
My gut and instinct are saying that these are my babies, but the ultrasound results aren't jiving when we were together.
I'm very confused. I hope to find out a lot more on March 13th......the next scheduled ultrasound.
On a positive note, the babies and the mother appear to be healthy. No problems to speak of.
Thanks
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